


Darth Vader and Kylo Ren Compared: a Meta

by BurntKloverfield



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Darth Vader Redemption, Kylo Ren Redemption, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 10:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17058284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield
Summary: A Comparative Viewing of Kylo Ren and Darth Vader through the Lens of Episode III. A Meta





	Darth Vader and Kylo Ren Compared: a Meta

**Author's Note:**

> Saving my meta from my tumblr: PullToTheLight  
> the original post is here: https://pulltothelight.tumblr.com/post/177225225406/just-rewatched-ep-iii-and-the-whole-sequel

Just rewatched ep III, and the whole sequel trilogy means so much more coming from the horror of this movie. I mean, we’ve got this man who is hopelessly in love and willing to do anything to save Padme. And he does horrible terrifying things, things that no one should ever even contemplate, and he does these things because he has been groomed by a terrifyingly powerful man who has orchestrated everything for years and years to gain power, to have control of the galaxy, to bring down the Jedi and to have the sith be the only ones who use the power of the force. And it’s so strange to watch Anakin fall, who we know as little Ani who loved his mother and was an amazing pod racer and who loves this woman who we love too because she is smart and beautiful and idealistic. He kills younglings. He destroys little children, and he topples a republic, and he is the tool of a terrifyingly manipulative mastermind. And then we see him still love Padme. He kills younglings and then runs back to Padme. And he is still hopelessly in love with her. She is his motivation and he is terrified to lose her like how he has lost everything else he’s ever loved. And then she learns what happens and begs him to come back to her and he feels like he’s lost her too. He’s a man who has lost everything because he sought the power to control his own life, and his entire life he has never once had the opportunity to be his own man. He is a slave, a padawan, an apprentice, a lord beneath a manipulative master. He’s always sought freedom and control over his own life and he never gets it, until his dying breaths. He’s a monstrous tragedy, a terror of what happens when we don’t care for these who need it.

But then we look at Ben Solo, at Kylo Ren. He’s older when we first meet him than Anakin Skywalker was when he became Darth Vader. They were both manipulated from a young age by horribly terrifying men. They were taught that they were monsters, that nobody trusts them, that they were destined for more than their mentors could ever hope for. And they destroyed it all for a hope of freedom and a hope of control and a hope for power. Kylo Ren hopes to be as powerful as Darth Vader. And now he is. He has no master. He is the Supreme Leader. He is greater than his grandfather ever was, and yet at the end, we find that he only wants the girl now. He wants her so bad and he has no one except her now.


End file.
